Secrets
by Serena0718
Summary: Aria Montgomery is 23 now. After everything that happened is Rosewood over the past few years, she decided that she couldn't stay there. So she went to college. But after that, where was she supposed to go to escape the memories and start a new life? Well, Central City of course. Nothing happens in that small city. At least, that was before the Particle Accelerator explosion...
1. Chapter 1

I had finally finished college and got my degree in journalism. And now I had to head back to Rosewood. I couldn't call it home anymore. Not after everything that happened with A. I still have nightmares sometimes. And I can't stand the dark. It makes me feel claustrophobic and reminds me of when I was stuck in that box with Garrett's dead body. Everyone else had started moving on with their lives. Hanna was engaged for God's sake, but me? I was stuck in the same place, never moving forward. I didn't want to go back to Rosewood. I couldn't stand the thought of it. So I decided that I'd have to find somewhere else. Far from all of this. I'd buy a new house or even an apartment to start a new life away from all the memories. Unfortunately that didn't mean I could escape Rosewood just yet. Mom and Dad had already made me promise to come stay with them for a few days at least after finishing college. So that's where I was heading now. As the cab drove to the house I looked through the window seeing where it all started. The DiLaurentis House. Alison was one of our best friends. Yet she kept secrets from us. Secrets that got us into situations like you wouldn't believe. None of us made it out without scars. Not even her. She was the one who should've been affected the most but all of us had to face different things. I couldn't believe she was still tied to this city but she said it was for Charlotte. Apparently she was getting better every day, but then again she fooled us all time and time again. Who's to say she can't again. I was wary of trusting people because of her. I can only imagine how the others would feel if she were to get out. I didn't realise that we were finally here until the cab driver opened up the trunk to get my luggage out. I opened the door carefully and got out looking up at my house. I don't know if I was ready for this, but I promised and I had to at least try. I turned to the driver to pay him; grabbed my stuff and began to walk to the front door. I hesitantly raised my hand and knocked on the wooden door waiting nervously for the door to open.

I looked around as I waited and smiled slightly as I remembered all the good memories I had with my parents. Before I could think too much about it all, the door swung open and I was immediately wrapped into a warm hug. I tensed slightly before relaxing into my mom's embrace breathing in her scent.

"Honey, how are you? It's been far too long! Come on let's get you inside." She spoke quickly with love in her voice. I'd missed her.

"Byron, she's here!" Mom yelled. Her and dad were finally back together and fixing their relationship after all these years.

"Aria, honey you're back!" Dad stated, rushing to my side to hug me.

"Yep. I missed you guys." I said softly wrapping my arms around him.

"So how was college?" Mom asked gently pushing me to sit on the couch.

"It was great! I made some friends, went to some parties and got my degree!" I answered smiling proudly.

"That's great Aria! You can finally become a journalist now! I'm sure there's plenty of room for you to get a job here at our local news-" I cut my mom off noticing where she was going with this.

"Mom. I'm not getting a job in Rosewood." I said tersely shifting to face my parents slightly.

"Oh, well if you want to travel a bit further from home then I guess that's fine too. I just thought it'd be a bit easier." she said casually. I shifted my look fromher to dad. She thought I was staying here?

"Mom. I'm not staying in Rosewood." I said bluntly.

"Wh-What do you mean?" She said laughing with confusion. The famous Montgomery tell for worry, upset and clear confusion. Whenever something we didn't understand was happening, we'd always do this little laugh.

"Exactly that. I can't stay in Rosewood."

"Of course you can. You've got your room upstairs and, and..." She trailed off shaking her head.

"You don't get it mom. The memories, everything that we had to deal with. It's just too much."

"But, Aria you promised." She said tears in her eyes.

"I promised I would stay for a few days. As soon as I find a place away from here, I'm moving. I know everyone else is getting over all the bad stuff, but that doesn't mean I am ready for it." I revealed casting my eyes downwards with guilt.

"How far?" She said trying to come to terms with what was happening.

"I've looked at a few places, but there's this place called Central City that looks quite nice. My friend offered me to stay over at hers while I look around." I whispered.

"Central City? That's nowhere near Rosewood." Dad stated, talking for the first time after everything started to head downhill.

"Exactly."

"Well, if that's what you want." Mom said teary-eyed.

"It is. And besides, it might be far but that doesn't mean you guys can't come visit and I know that I'll definitely be visiting every now and then." I said trying to show that this wasn't the worst thing that could happen.

"I guess you're right." She answered with a smile. And with that we settled down and started talking about everything else while getting ready for dinner. As time passed I decided to head up to my bedroom to put my stuff away and look more into Central City. I remember my first room mate, Iris, talking about how she's lived there her whole life and only came to college to get her degree. She was 22 years old when I met her and her dad was a detective who didn't want her to join the police force. She also had a foster brother called Barry who she absolutely adored. You could tell by the pictures she had up. The way she talked about the city made me want to visit but I never got around to it. She was 26 now and I hadn't seen her since she got her degree a year after I met her but we kept in touch. She was also the one that offered to let me stay at hers while I looked for a place to stay. Apparently there was an explosion about 8 or 9 months ago in the city caused by a scientist that put her brother into a coma and she needed someone other than her dad to talk to about it. I remember how she called me up in tears thinking he was dead. Everyday after that, she would call me and beg me to come stay once I finished college. At first I would always say no, but it wasn't until recently that I agreed to it.

I would be staying in Rosewood for a week and then I'd be moving in with Iris for a while. I opened up my laptop to look at some houses in Central City before receiving a message from Iris asking if I was in Rosewood yet.

Me: Yep, I got here a few hours ago.

Iris: That's great! So did you tell your parents?

Me: Yeah. Mom got a bit teary about it but it's all good now.

Iris: That's good, I can't wait until you move in. It's been so lonely without Barry but once you move in hopefully it'll be easier.

Me: I know, but Iris, I can't stay forever.

Iris: I know you can't but as long as you're in Central City I'll be fine.

Me:It's nice to know that! Anyway, I'm feeling really tired so I'll talk to you later.

Iris: Alright, night Aria.

Me: Night Iris x

I put my phone down and got under the covers feeling exhausted from the events of the day.

'I can't wait to move to Central City...' I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

This is my second story that I felt a bit inspired to write. I have no idea if it's any good so sorry if it isn't. This is a crossover of sorts between Pretty Little Liars and The Flash but it'll mainly be focused on The Flash series. I'm really sorry if I get any information on the shows wrong, if I do, please let me know and I'll try to fix it. Let me know what you think of this so far, I'll try to make it a bit more interesting as the story goes on and if you want, check out my other story 'Simply Different' in the Twilight Fanfic section. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Days flew by since I arrived in Rosewood and every night I awoke with different nightmares about how things might have ended differently if no-one found us in the dollhouse or if all those times A tried to kill us worked. I found myself passing the time by going for a run every day and restarting my hobby (photography) and sometimes talking to Ali. I hadn't realised how much she had changed since high school until we finally left everything behind. It was a good change.

She smiled a lot more; was a lot kinder too. And she was always trying to see the good in people nowadays, like she saw in Charlotte. But me, well let's just say that we don't completely share the same views. I told her about my decision to move away from Rosewood to Central City; she thought it was a good idea and that it'd help me work past any problems I still had. We talked about Iris and Barry too and how she was struggling to cope with Barry's accident which was understandable, after all, it's not everyday you get struck by lightning and end up in a coma. It was nice talking to Ali after everything and our friendship was a lot better in comparison to when we were teenagers. It looked like some good things had happened after all of the situations we'd gotten into. We spoke about Hanna's engagement and what we thought the wedding was gonna be like and I can honestly say that I was gonna miss Ali when I was in Central City, I mean I missed everyone anyway, Emily, Hanna and Spencer but when you see a friend after a long time and know you won't see them for a while just makes it harder to leave, but my mind was already set and I was leaving soon anyway. Tomorrow to be exact, Iris and Joe (her dad) had already set everything up meaning that they had turned Barry's old room into a temporary one for me and all of my things had been sent over. All I had to do was catch my plane on time and everything would be peachy! I had already packed my bags and started to say my goodbyes to everyone, Mom, Dad, Ali and even Toby. I ran into him while getting coffee and we started to talk. It was strange at first, I mean he was Spencer's ex but he was a good person. I'm surprised I never spoke to him while he was dating Spence, I mean there were plenty of opportunities but neither of us thought to take them. In the few days I spent at Rosewood we became good friends and I even met his girlfriend Yvonne, she was great and they seemed happy but at the same time I couldn't help but be slightly hostile towards her considering the only other person I'd seen Toby with was one of my best friends. But other than that, things were good. I was at home right now making sure I had my camera equipment packed away properly in my bags. I texted Iris to let her know all my stuff was ready and she replied saying that everything I had sent over had arrived and was in my room waiting to be unpacked. We said goodnight to one another and I got in bed excited to finally see Central City. And with that I fell asleep with dreams of the future.

* _Skip to the morning_ *

My eyes fluttered open as I began to wake up to the sound of my alarm. I stretched my limbs hearing my back crack and let out a sigh of satisfaction. I got out of bed and started to tidy up, changing into my outfit for the day and started to do my makeup leaving my hair in soft curls.

I grabbed my bags and checked the time in my phone. It was 8:30am and my flight left in four hours, I had to leave soon. I took my things downstairs and walked into the kitchen to pour myself some cereal.

"Morning Dad." I said sitting at the counter as Dad shuffled in tiredly.

"Morning honey." He yawned back.

"Where's mom?" I asked. She was always awake before Dad and she wasn't down here yet.

"I think she went out for some groceries." He replied grabbing a bowl for his own cereal.

"Oh."

We continued eating, making small talk until Mom got home.

"Hey honey, you're up!" She said giving me a hug.

"Yeah, I thought I'd get up early so I could catch my flight on time." I said hoping my happiness about moving wouldn't upset them.

"When does your flight leave again?" Dad asked.

"Um, in 3 and a half hours." I said checking my phone again.

"Do you want us to drive you there?" Mom asked. I looked up at her awkwardly realising I'd forgotten to tell her I already had a ride.

"Um, I'd love you to but Toby already offered and I said yes..." I admitted my face scrunching up in apology.

"Toby? As in Cavanaugh?" Mom asked confused.

"Yeah, but I can tell him you guys are taking me if you want?" I said pulling my phone out to text him.

"Oh, no you don't need to do that!" Mom laughed making me put my phone down.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Of course!" She said with a reassuring smile.

"Okay, that's good then because he'll be here in 20 minutes." I said jumping up and walking into the living room.

"20 minutes? Have you got all your stuff ready? Your bags?" Mum asked running after me to check I was ready.

"Yeah, I've checked multiple times." I walked over to the door as I heard it's bell ring. Opening it I saw Ali standing there.

"Hey, you ready for today?" She asked smiling as I pulled her into a tight hug.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous but excited too!" I replied smiling back at her.

"Hey Alison, you alright?" Dad asked seeing her in the room.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine Mr Montgomery, how about you?" She asked casually.

"Good, I'm good."

"So are you here to see Aria off?" Mom asked.

"Actually, Toby's gonna drop me off at Welby seeing as it's near the airport." Ali mentioned looking at me.

"Oh that's good. Well, we'll just leave you two in here, don't forget to say goodbye to us when Toby gets here!" Mom said with a stern look on her face.

"I won't." I laughed as they walked away. We sat down on the couch waiting for Toby to come.

"So what're you gonna do when you get to Central City? I mean have you sorted out a job yet?" Ali asked to fill the silence.

"Um actually, I hadn't thought that far into things yet. I was thinking of checking out their local paper and seeing if I wanted a job there or maybe something related to photography, I mean I got a qualification in it when we were in school so I could use that to get a job." I told her thinking about my job options. "But I could talk to Iris and get her to help me out." Ali nodded her head agreeing quietly.

"Speaking of jobs, I still can't believe you went back to school!" I mentioned raising my eyebrows with mock surprise. Ali began to laugh at the new conversation topic, "Neither can I. I mean, I worked so hard to get out of there and now I work as an English teacher!"

"Who would've thought? I don't think I'll ever get over this." I joked making us both laugh. As we began to calm down there was a knock at the door.

"That must be Toby." I said going to open the door. Opening it I saw Toby standing outside with a grin on his face.

"Hey!" I greeted him with a grin as he leaned down to give me a hug.

"Hey, I got you these." He said pulling out a box full of little gifts.

"Toby, I said no gifts." I scolded softly.

"Aria, I don't care." He replied mimicking my tone. I squinted my eyes at him before letting him in the house.

"Hey Ali." Toby said awkwardly as Ali stood up to say hi.

"I'm gonna go tell my parents I'm leaving, I'll be back in a minute." Ignoring the awkwardness, I left to find my parents talking in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in their hands.

"Hey, Toby's here. I thought I'd let you know before I left." I mentioned standing in the doorway. Mom and Dad got up and walked over to me.

"I can't believe you're leaving already! You've been here less than a week." Dad said clutching my shoulder with a watery smile.

"My little girl, all grown up." Mom said equally teary.

"C'mon guys, I'm sure when Mike left you weren't like this. Besides, I'll come home to visit and I'm sure you guys will come over to see me." I said trying to be optimistic.

"Yeah, you're right, it's just you're the oldest and Mike moved out before you and now that you're leaving that means the both of you are officially adults and don't really need us anymore." Mom explained letting the tears flow.

"Mom, I'm always gonna need you. Both of you." My eyes brimmed with tears as my voice thickened heavy with sadness.

"Yeah, I know." She replied pulling me close.

"Well, uh, you best get going or you'll miss your flight." Dad said sniffing to hide his tears.

"I'm gonna miss you two." I told them giving them both tight hugs.

"We're gonna miss you too." He replied. I blinked back the tears as we began to walk into the room only to see Ali and Toby standing in the same positions with tension between them. Their eyes snapped up as we made our way into the room; they began to stand a little straighter.

"Hey, you ready?" Toby asked with a small smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I replied grabbing one of my bags.

"Be safe honey, and make sure you get there alright. Call us when you get off the plane!" Mom instructed as Toby and Ali grabbed the rest of my bags. "Don't worry Mom, I will!" I replied as we made our way to Toby's truck. We loaded it with my bags before getting in. I gave my parents one last hug before getting in with Ali behind me. We pulled out of the driveway, me waving at them before we took off towards the airport.

"So, where are you staying when you get to Central City?" Toby asked keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'll be staying with my friend Iris and her dad. Her foster brother moved out into his own apartment so they had a spare room for me to stay in until I find my own place. And Iris has been wanting me to move in for a while now. Barry, her foster brother, was working late in his lab one night and apparently there was this huge storm going on and he got struck by lightning and ever since he's been in a coma so she needs someone to talk to other than her dad." I explained seeing as he didn't know what I was gonna do yet.

"Oh wow. Let me know if he's alright, I mean, I have no clue who he is but still." Toby said shocked at what Barry had been involved in. "Yeah of course, maybe when you come visit he'll be alright and you guys can all meet. God only knows what Iris will do when all my friends come over, she'll be over the moon." I laughed thinking about her reaction to meeting new people.

The three of us talked for the rest of the ride until we got to Welby letting Ali off to see Charlotte. I hugged her goodbye and promised to talk soon before Toby drove off heading towards the airport once more.

"Aria?"

"Yes Toby?" I smiled.

"Does Iris know?" He asked carefully. He was talking about A and the dollhouse. My smile fell and I looked at my hands playing with them before replying.

"No, she doesn't."

"Are you gonna tell her?"He asked with caution.

"Well, I don't really want to but I will at one point. She knows that I don't want to stay in Rosewood and she won't stop asking why until I tell her and if I don't tell her then she'll find out on her own. And seeing as I still have nightmares about everything that happened, I'll have to explain to her and maybe even Joe why I have them." I stated nervously. I felt a hand around my shoulders rubbing my arm comfortingly. I looked at Toby to see him glance at me with concern in his eyes.

"It's okay to talk about it Aria. I know that when I was with Spencer she wouldn't say a word about it but when she began speaking about some of it, she said it helped. If you're not ready to talk about it yet though, then that's fine. But I'm here if you need me." He comforted.

"Thanks Toby." I replied, glad I had became such good friends with him. The rest of the ride continued in comfortable silence only breaking the contentment when arriving at the airport. We both got out of Toby's truck to get my bags.

"Alright, is that everything?" He asked looking to see if there was anything left.

"Uh, yeah I think so." I said looking at all my stuff.

"Okay, I'll help you get your bags and everything sorted and then I guess its goodbye." He said softly.

"Oh, Toby don't say that, it's not goodbye, we'll see each other soon and I'll make sure you visit me in Central City and if you really want, you can bring Yvonne with you." I teased as he laughed knowing I didn't hate her but felt uneasy around her.

"Thanks, I'll have to take you up on that offer!" He joked back as we made our way inside. We continued joking around until all my bags were sent off to the aeroplane before walking up to the barrier that I'd have to walk through that would stop Toby from coming with me.

"So I guess this is it huh?" Toby said shifting from one foot to the other.

"Yeah, this is where I leave." I said feeling tears in my eyes again.

"Hey, don't cry, I mean, nothing bad is happening, you're finally getting away from Rosewood. You can finally be happy and move on." He soothed rubbing my arms. "I know, but it also means that I won't be able to see all of you that often and I'll miss you loads." I replied shakily. "I know, I'm going to miss you too. But you'll have Iris and I'm sure you'll make more friends, I mean, you're Aria Montgomery, who wouldn't want to be friends with you!" He joked pulling a laugh out of me. "Well you better get going." Toby spoke as my flight was being called. "Yeah, call me soon alright?" I asked giving him a tight hug as tears started to flow freely. "Of course. Be safe Aria." He instructed as I started to walk away. "You too Toby, drive safe!" I yelled before passing through the gates and giving him one last look but this time with a smile and a small wave.


	3. Chapter 3

I sat on the quiet flight with my headphones in my ears as the hours flew by thinking about what my life would be like in Central City. With all the excitement I couldn't sleep so I settled for reading one of my favourite books. Before I knew it the plane was landing, so I put my book in my carry-on and waited till we could get off. I put my headphones away as I turned Airplane mode off and started to take my bags out of the overhead bin. I couldn't believe it. I had escaped Rosewood. I was finally free to start my life afresh. As the happiness bubbled inside of me, my phone buzzed signalling a message as I walked through the gates.

 _Iris: Hey where has your flight landed yet? I'm waiting for you on the other side. Can't wait to see you again!_

I texted her back smiling at her words.

 _Me: You won't have to wait long! I just got off the plane. I'm walking through the gates right now._

As I walked through, I looked around searching for a curly black-haired girl. My eyes landed on someone familiar so walking up to her I asked, "Iris?" The woman turned around with a grin before launching herself at me. Her arms squeezed me tightly and I returned the hug with equal force happy that it was her.

"Oh my God Aria! You're actually here! I'm so happy, I've missed you so much!" She squealed pulling back to look at me.

"I know I can't believe it either! We have so much to catch up on!" I exclaimed.

"That we do, but first let's get your bags and then we can get you to your new home. It'll be like sharing the same dorm again but better!" She laughed. I could only imagine what things would be like now. We had no essays to work on, we were free to hang out all the time but the only big difference was that we'd be living with her dad. I could only imagine what he was like. If he had a daughter like Iris he must have been a pretty amazing dad.

We located the rest of my bags quickly and exited the airport. Iris showed me her car as we loaded my bags in them and started to drive to her house. I remembered to call my parents and let the know that I had landed and they told me how much they missed me already even though I'd only been gone for a few hours. I promised them that I'd visit soon for the umpteenth before hanging up to call Ali. She told me she had just left Welby and Charlotte had improved a lot since she last visited before asking me how things were going. I told her that we were on our way home and what the city looked like and the differences to Rosewood when she told me she had to go finish off some work for her next class. Finally I called Toby.

"Aria! Are you okay? Did you land safely?" He asked before I could say a word.

"Yes Toby, I'm fine! I just called to let you know I had landed safely. By the way, thank you for the gifts, they're lovely but did you by any chance get Yvonne to help you pick them out?" I asked as I thought of the perfume and makeup that I now possessed.

"Uh, sort of. She picked out the makeup and I got the perfume and teddy bear. I know that the bear's for kids but I thought you'd like at least a tiny reminder of the good in Rosewood." He admitted sheepishly.

"Toby, I love it. And the bear is perfect. I know I said I wanted to forget about Rosewood but that didn't include the people in it. This will be the perfect reminder. Anyway, you probably have to get back to work, tell Yvonne I said 'Thank you' and make sure you visit soon!" I told him smiling.

"I will, see you soon Aria." He replied.

"See ya." I said hanging up. I saw Iris looking at me from the corner of my eye.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Oh nothing. So who's this Toby? A boyfriend?" She asked smirking.

"God no! Toby's like a brother! He's one of my best friend's exes." I said grossed out by the insinuation that he was anything more than a friend.

"Right." She said sarcastically.

"Seriously, he's just a really good friend. And besides he has a girlfriend." I mentioned.

"Okay I believe you." She finally said laughing at how uncomfortable I was.

"Thank you!" I exasperated throwing my head back. She laughed at my antics as the car slowed down in front of a house.

"Welcome to your new home!" She presented.

"Thanks." I smiled as we got out of the car and collected my bags. She unlocked the door with one hand and led me inside. The house was perfect. It was similar to my house in Rosewood but was different at the same time. There were pictures decorating the house with 3 consistent faces. I could tell that the older one was Joe seeing his resemblance to Iris and the other boy had to be Barry.

'Cute.' I thought before frowning. 'No Aria, that is not how you think of guys who are in comas who you have never met!' I chastised myself.

"So, what do you think?" She asked nervously.

"It's perfect Iris. I can't thank you enough for letting me stay here." I smiled at her grateful for her kind heart.

"It's fine, besides, dad wanted to meet you after I told him how you were such a great friend and even encouraged me to let you stay." She told me truthfully. I thanked her once more before she showed me the room I would be staying in. It had been left bare for me to decorate with my own pictures and possessions but there was a bed with duvet covers as well as a closet and chest of drawers for me to use. Some of my items that had been sent over before me remained in boxes waiting to be put in place, yet I didn't know quite exactly where I was supposed to start. It was a fresh beginning in this town so I figured that wherever things fell naturally they'd stay. Iris helped me unpack my bags and put the basics where they belonged; I decided to put a _few_ pictures up to make me feel at ease. On my bedside table sat a picture of me, Hanna, Spencer, Emily and Alison. It was one we had taken before we all headed our separate ways. It was one of my favourites seeing as it was one of the only ones where we were truly free. I smiled at the picture before turning to Iris.

"So now that I'm kinda settled, when do I get a tour of the city?" I asked smiling.

"How about right now?" She asked holding the door open.

"Hm, sounds perfect!" I said with fake contemplation. We laughed as we headed out with her leading the way to show me the best parts of Central City. The first place we went was the CCPD where Joe -her father- worked as a detective along with her boyfriend, Detective Thawne or as her dad called him, Detective 'Pretty Boy'. His dad had a strong feeling of dislike towards her boyfriend it seemed so they had to keep their relationship a secret from him until they thought he should really know. Walking into the CCPD felt different to what I expected. It wasn't as intimidating as the Rosewood Police Department that was for sure. But maybe it was easy because this time I wasn't being arrested or accused of committing a crime. We ran into Detective Thawne or as he introduced himself, Eddie, before meeting Joe who sent Eddie off to do paperwork with a withering glare. He was a very warm man for someone who worked in crime and it was different to what I thought was normal.

"Aria was it? Nice to meet you. How are you liking Central City so far?" Joe asked kindly shaking my hand.

"It's different to what I'm used to but a good different. Much more lively than Rosewood and definitely more inviting!" I admitted with full honesty.

"Glad to hear it! Wouldn't want you leaving Iris here. She's been a lot happier since you mentioned you'd be moving here especially what with Barry's incident." Joe mentioned trailing off at the end.

"Well, I'm glad that my presence can make such a difference and hopefully it will continue to do that." I told them both honestly, smiling at the two West's.

"It will. Anyway, we should probably get going, I still have a few places to show Aria and then we're gonna stop off at Jitters cause I have work and you'll need a coffee break if you don't want your jet-lag forcing you to fall asleep on me." Iris said in one breath pulling me out of the station.

"I'll see you two at home!" Joe yelled, chuckling.

Tugging me around, Iris showed me the remaining 'important' parts of the City not including the once famous STAR Labs. She did however tell me all about it on our way to Jitters. She mentioned how the explosion led to it being closed down and how the only people that still worked there were Dr Harrison Wells himself, Cisco Ramon and Dr Caitlin Snow who all took care of Barry.

"I would've shown you it but I'm not sure Dr Wells would like that and I'd miss work if I did so if I get the all clear I'll show you later. Anyway, moving on," She said tying an apron around her waist as she walked behind the counter, "what can I get you to drink?" She asked with a sugar sweet smile as she became my server.

"Well, that depends. Do I get a discount?" I asked cheekily, with a big smile.

"Um, obviously..." She said with a tone telling me I was stupid for thinking otherwise.

"In that case, I'll have a hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles!" I said with a cheery voice.

"Hot chocolate? In this weather?" She deadpanned.

"Hey, you aren't supposed to question a customer's request!" I scolded her jokingly.

"But I am supposed to when it comes to a friend who makes questionable choices." She fought back.

"Look, hot chocolate is the cure for everything in life no matter the weather!" I stated showing I had no care for whoever disagreed.

"Okay, hot chocolate coming right up!" She laughed. I smiled as I walked away to a small table in a corner that gave me my own space as I pondered over the good fortune I had found here in Central City. I watched Iris take orders from customers and make them drinks with skills that only someone who had worked as a barista for as long as Iris had could possess. As she finally came to my table to give me my drink, her breath caught in her throat. I frowned wondering what was wrong until I followed her eye-line.

A tall boy at least a few years older than me, stood in the doorway with a handsome boyish grin plastered over his face make his aristocratic features seem more enhanced than before. He was dressed in casual clothes and was looking right at Iris.

 _He's awake._

The thought hit me as I realised that Barry was the one standing there after nine months of being comatose. I looked at Iris and noticed she was ready to burst into tears. I gave her a slight nudge forward as they both stood taking each other in. She took notice that she was yet to move and ran over to Barry who also started forwards meeting in the middle. I smiled at their slightly teary greeting and comforting words as I sipped on my drink. I decided to distract myself to allow them privacy so I looked out the window and tried thinking of which directions I take to get to certain places nearby. All of a sudden, a sound of cups smashing greeted the ears of customers and co-workers as a barista bumped into someone.

"Are you okay Tracy?" I heard Iris ask.

"Yeah, I got it." The girl assured her already cleaning up the mess. Iris nodded before glancing at me.

"Let me introduce you to someone." Iris said pulling Barry by the coat towards my table.

I wiped any residue of my drink from my lips before straightening up as they reached me.

"Barry, this is my friend, Aria Montgomery, from college. Aria this is Barry." She introduced smiling more than I had seen her do since I arrived.

"Hey, nice to meet you." Barry said holding out a hand to me.

"Nice to meet you too. Glad to see you up and about too." I said shaking his warm hand as a jolt ran through me. I waved it off as some form of static electricity as I brought my hand back into my lap.

"It's good to be up and about. I can't believe it's been nine months since the explosion." He mused shaking his head with astonishment.

"You had us really worried Barry. My dad is going to be _so_ happy to see you. Let me go get my stuff!" Iris exclaimed as she ran off. Barry nodded as she rushed off.

"So, how are you feeling?" I asked filling the silence.

"Pretty good for a guy who was struck by lightning, but I think I'm still getting used to things." He replied honestly as he rose his eyebrows.

"That's understandable, I mean people who go through stuff like this need time to adjust to changes that they weren't expecting especially when they're expecting their day to be normal." I told him as thoughts of A flooded my mind.

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Barry said with concern.

"Not exactly, I mean, I went through a lot of life changing things when I was a teenager with my friends and I thought my days would be like everyone else's but they weren't and after some things it took us time to adjust to everything else, I mean I'm still adjusting so I sort of see where you're coming from."

"Is it hard to talk about, I mean we can talk about something else if you want." He suggested.

"It's fine honestly. I mean, I don't talk about it because it brings up horrible memories but you don't have to feel awkward about it. Besides, I have to tell Iris and Joe about it tonight so I might as well tell you about it too." I said as I finished my drink to settle my nerves.

"Joe? Why does he need to know?" He asked curiously.

"Iris offered for me to move into your old room when I decided to move here so I'll be staying with her and Joe but I still have nightmares about what my friends and I went through so I don't want them to worry." I admitted sheepishly looking at my hands.

"Hey," Barry said as he placed a hand on my shoulder, "you don't have to tell us anything if you're not ready. You can just tell Joe that you went through something that causes you nightmares. He won't mind, trust me. I used to have nightmares all the time when I was a kid because of what happened to my family."

"Thanks Barry." I smiled as he pulled back his hand with a frown. Just when I was going to ask what was wrong Iris came back ready to take us to her dad.

We arrived to the station quickly and as soon as we were inside Barry was greeted by many. Joe pulled him into a giant hug telling Barry how scared they were as I smiled at the reunion much like Iris. I laughed at the remark an officer had made in regards to Barry's age while he rolled his eyes and let Joe ask how he was. But soon enough, Joe was off on another task with Eddie who stopped to greet us.

"Aria, Allen. Good to see you buddy. Hi Iris." He spoke breathlessly.

"Detective. You should go. My dad doesn't like to be kept waiting." Iris said briskly as she hid her feelings. I held back a laugh as Eddie replied simply and walked off.

The three of us turned around and Barry was greeted by more coworkers when I noticed that the criminal they had caught was reaching for one of their guns. As soon as it was in his hands I got ready to call out a warning but before the words had formed on my lips, the gun was nowhere in sight and the officers were pulling him away. I noticed how Barry was flustered and wondered if he saw what happened but before I could ask, he was telling us he'd see us later and was out the door.

"Weird." Said Iris shrugging as we walked away.

 _Yeah._

I silently agreed as we left the station yet again that day. I had a feeling that the station would become a regular thing in my life.

 **Here is another Chapter for you guys, still working on some more but when I have a few I'll try to update more frequently!**

 **Much Love, Serena xoxo**


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